Mercedes Plug-in Hybrid Modes EXPLAINED!

[@npoleary]

Watch the review of the Mercedes GLE featured in this video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eKSui4Cahs53g5I

[@simonbradford6774]

Hi, I've got a 2023 C300e, great car, does everything I hoped. I have a couple of comments though. In electric if you boot it, i.e. puch the accelerator pedal quickly down the engine will come on without depressing the "panic" button. Secondly I wish someone could get the message through to Mercedes that the charging modes are a bit the wrong way round. We all know that a battery shouoldn't be consistantly charged to 100% and indeed it says that in the manual but the default mode is Standard and the default charge is 100%, yes you can change this to lower levels but next time you come to use it it will be 100% again. Home however can be set to a lower level and saved at that level which is what I do and as a compromise on range and battery life I charge to 90%, topping up before leaving if I need max range. I pointed this out at the recent recall and they proudly told me they'd sorted it, obviously they don't know the system because it smply reverted to 100% again. Sorry for the ramble. Great videos by the way, very clear and informative.

[@davidfennessey2727]

Hi Simon I also have the c300e estate and it’s a fantastic car in the last week now that the weather is warmer I can get over 70 miles per charge so might as you say change that to 90% for the summer when most days I have excess range my normal days driving is 40 to 50 miles charging on cheap overnight tariff £2 for 60 miles! Regards David

[@ChristianLaurinE]

What car are you driving I have the glc and it has the big screen in the center.

[@simonbradford6774]

@@ChristianLaurinE it’s a C class estate AMG line also with the big screen

[@simonbradford6774]

@@davidfennessey2727 I’ve done about 8000 miles with 7000 on electric, 7p/kWhr charge any time. If I go out somewhere in the morning and come back for lunch then off out again I charge whilst having lunch. Mind you with the initial cost and cost of road fund licence etc I didn’t buy it to save money, just May as well while I can

[@npoleary]

Thank you! Glad you enjoy the videos! Ah yes that would be good if you could limit the charge!

[@pumpkinpie78]

I think Plug-Ins are the perfect intermediate of ICE and EV.

[@npoleary]

They certainly are! More plug-in hybrid videos coming soon! 🤓

[@gregthompson3231]

I have to say that car suits you quite well. If I were going for a hybrid, I think that plug in on a Mercedes would be the way I would go. As for battery hold, my cars have a type of battery save mode for the starter battery. I use it in winter when I don't drive as much. But not the same thing. I have learned quite a bit today.

[@npoleary]

Haha thanks! It’s a big one though! Glad you enjoyed it! 🤓

[@OvEmw]

This is insane, i was just thinking about this yesterday what the diffrent modes were for. I did test it yesterday aswell but i couldnt find out exectly what they did so big thanks to this video Nick. One thing i was abit confused about is that u cant have a mode thats only use petrol and no electric at all, then u need to use the battery hold mode, right? I really do love ur channel, ive been subbed for like 6 months now just before i bought my new AMG 250 E and u have helped me with alot of tips and trix. So please keep on doing these kind of videos cus ill enjoy them every single time u post new ones. Travel safe bud 😁🥰

[@npoleary]

Oh how spooky! Haha To be fair I did film this a few weeks ago, I always try and batch videos in advance. If you’re a member for £2.99 a month, you can see them before anyone else and see behind the scenes of how I shot this video! 😜 Yeah battery hold will prioritise the engine where it can depending on how you drive. Ah thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@merca180]

Great video again , thx 👍👍🙋‍♂️

[@npoleary]

Thank you! 🙏

[@johanjohansenn4909]

Hey Nick. Tip for a future video: how to use the paddle shifters in each mode. In EL it's for recuperation, in BH it's changing gears, what with Hybrid, Sport, ...

[@npoleary]

I’ve produced a video already on Brake Regen. It’s demonstrated on a BMW but with a Mercedes, Volkswagen & Tesla explanation of how it works and how to adjust it.

[@npoleary]

For Mercedes EL is the only mode where you can adjust brake regen I think. The others are for gears only.

[@AmanVerma-sm2lu]

Thanks for the video

[@npoleary]

Thank you for watching! 😎

[@hadytarabay]

I love those videos even tho i don’t own a Mercedes

[@npoleary]

Thanks for watching! What car do you have? 🤓 I don’t always make videos about Mercedes 😎

[@hadytarabay]

@@npoleary i used to own MK2 Golf, now I am driving my parent’s Nissan Versa, and saving for my future car… Maybe a Miata NC😍

[@npoleary]

Nice! 👌🏼 Well as you might have seen I don’t just post about Mercedes, there’s other topics too I have contemplated starting a second channel as well but we’ll see (only in the thought process atm)

[@hadytarabay]

@@npoleary no matter what you do, keep posting videos about topics that not everyone post about, just the way you are doing now! Be Special in your own way! All the support all the way from Lebanon

[@didierbalcaen]

Bedankt

[@npoleary]

Thank you so much!! 🙏🙏🙏

[@dimbonuk]

On a petrol or a mid-hybrid car, Mercedes would ask you to do certain things for the first 1000 miles or so. Like don’t go faster than 85mph or keep the revs below a certain point. I wonder what is the recommended break-in procedure for a plug-in hybrid where under certain circumstances you could literally use the electric part most of the time. Is there a way to see how much miles you’ve done using the petrol engine vs electric?

[@npoleary]

Yeah it’s an interesting topic that one, Mercedes don’t state that a particular part of it needs to be run in individually (as far as I’ve seen). I’m sure there is a trip reading on the from reset menu that shows that. 🤓

[@davidfennessey2727]

@@npolearyhi there is 2 readings on the trip computer one for electric miles one for total miles and this again has 2 readings last trip and from reset

[@AntoniLopezBCN]

What I did is to consider number of miles using the combustion engine, as a precaution

[@jaimereguart]

I just got a CLA 300e and started driving only in electric as I have only been going through downtown Madrid. A message popped out saying that I should use the fuel engine a little bit as it is not good for it to not use it for long periods of time

[@npoleary]

@jaimereguart I haven’t seen that message as I’ve not had one long term but that totally makes sense to give it a run (the engine) from time to time.

[@herrtomas6729]

Nice motor. I currently drive a different brand (Hyundai) which is PHEV. In winter, I select 'hybrid' to ensure the engine comes on more regularly to demist, and to warm the cabin: when you set your heater controls it tends to do this automatically. Mine seems to work the same as the MB to save EV mode for city/town use - I guess that's a fairly universal scenario. One thing the Hyundai does specifically is that when you are in ECO hybrid mode, it keeps the battery up to 13% so that it saves some power for when you need to boot it; but in SPORT mode, it actually ensures it charges up to 20% so that you reserve even more battery power for the livelier mode. Does the MB work in a similar way? I think PHEV will be the way forward for many years to come, until the charging infrastructure improves across the country, but I like the MB in that the newer models seem to have larger batteries for the PHEV. My Hyundai only has 36 miles electric range, but the more modern PHEVs seem to nearly double this (like some MB I looked at). This really is the way forward for many.

[@npoleary]

Yeah I wish it was my daily car! 😇 that would be awesome! I would presume so with the battery reserving, sadly it’s gone back to Mercedes now…but I know the battery doesn’t go that low just like yours, but not sure if there’s a difference between the normal mode and sport mode. Yeah it wasn’t that long ago that plug-in hybrids had 20 - 30 miles. But now Mercedes offer one with 80?! That’s crazy!

[@wallyj2000]

Hi, thanks for the video and all your time and effort you put into them. Slightly off-topic would you have any idea what the modes do in the Mercedes-Benz me app for the EQE there's a work mode charge mode and a standard mode in the app for charging don't know what the differences are between them.

[@npoleary]

Thank you! Ah yeah I saw that when I had this car for a review. It’s basically if you want different charging profiles for home and work. So for example maybe you want to charge to a certain percentage at work and charge fully at home. Or the other way round 😎

[@wallyj2000]

OK, thank you again for your really quick replies

[@npoleary]

No worries! 😎

[@kencarruthers6714]

My GLA250e doesn’t have “Hybrid” mode but it has “Eco” and “Comfort” modes which seem to work differently to the way you have described. For example, neither completely holds the electric drive till the battery is exhausted but they switch between both the engine and electric motor according to the pattern of driving and speed you are maintaining. This seems a more intelligent use of the electric power and petrol engine. For example, on say a 60 mile mixed A road and motorway journey, the battery power will kick in for low constant speeds and for the initial move-off from standstill (say at lights) but once cruising at a higher speed petrol power will take over. No doubt the computer has worked out that this is the most economic use of both systems. It also fits with what I understand which is that battery power is less efficient at high speeds (or am I wrong)? If I want to replicate for any journey the Hybrid mode you describe (to use all the electric power stored in the battery before switching over to the petrol engine) then starting-off and remaining in “Electric” mode will do just that. However, that may not be the most economic use of the electric/petrol power available.

[@npoleary]

What year is your GLA just out of curiosity? I may have produced a video on that before 🤓

[@kencarruthers6714]

@@npoleary 2021 June.

[@npoleary]

Ah awesome that’ll be this video for that Plug-in hybrid: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6u2iniGZ8qCiassi=gmieAKMWF2fDyjKp Made it a couple of years ago at my local dealer 🤓 Some new hybrids like yours and the one featured in the video do have Sat nav integration when it can spread out the charge throughout the journey. I chose to explain that on the video the way I did because Mercedes make a lot of models and it does vary a lot round the world. I’m sure I remember “Electric in the city” being an option on the EQ menu too. But the one in this video is how hybrids look now with the modes on the screen.

[@kencarruthers6714]

@@npoleary Hi Nick Thanks. (see rocketLR post below also). This is a topic I think many including me find confusing, so any help appreciated. You say the new models are like the new video - does this mean the system no longer works in the intelligent way I described (as in my car)? If so, for me that would be a big backward step. .

[@npoleary]

@kencarruthers6714 no I was just trying to get the pure basics out of what a plug-in hybrid is. Some people have never had one and don’t understand the concept of it. There are plug-in hybrids out there like yours AND the one in the video as it’s newer that have tech built into the Navi system that can do extra things like optimising it for the route. I could make a video on that for sure! But for this video I’m simplifying it down for people much like the other video I made for people who just want to know what the modes do. Hope that makes sense!

[@suczey]

I see what you did there with the soft closing door at the end 🤣🤣

[@npoleary]

I have no idea what you're talking about 🤫

[@stephanejanda7009]

The electric motor is in the (fantastic) 9G-Tronic gearbox : it is referred to as a 'Starter'. It makes 125HP and can drive the car only in electric but also add power to the Combustion engine (the 1994cc diesel engine OM654M in my particular case). On the 20.000 km I did with my GLC 300de I drove 13.000km on electric only. The 125HP are sufficient most of the time for city driving but sometimes prove to be insufficient. Being in the gearbox, the electric motor can drive the wheels and recharge the battery with the front or rear wheels (but mostly on front wheels because it is a front wheel car after all). The 300hp of my GLC are only possible in 'SPORT' mode under heavy acceleration. At his moment ONLY the 4-matic engage... It is the sad part of the system : not having the permanent 4-matic with a distribution rear 55% - front 45% like the previous models. The 13,5KWh battery can give you up to 48km range in summer with a super efficient and slow drive but most of the time you'll get 35-40 km of range. After 3 years, my battery has degraded a little, but not so much. I charge at 100% every day, one or twice a day at 5,5KWh. With the combustion engine, I drive either in CONFORT or ECO mode that I prefer because it charges better the battery. One downside of the Hybrid is the small petrol tank (50l) instead of the 66l of a normal ICE vehicle. Overall I love it very much !

[@aestheticsstrength]

Where did you find the info for the power distribution between the front and the rear of the GLC 300de (X253)?

[@npoleary]

Ah awesome thanks for sharing! 🙏

[@stephanejanda7009]

@@aestheticsstrength Those infos are difficult to find because, motricity speaking, it is a drawback : I discussed with a MB engine specialist at my local dealer for answers because I'm not happy with the new 4-motion doctrine for the GLC. The longitudinally mounted engine models should be rear prioritized, and not front, and 4-motion vehicles should be permanent AWD. I experienced few times when in my GLC 300de the 4-matic engaged, only in SPORT mode with full throttle... And I relived the motricity I used to have in my previous GLC 2018.

[@TheJoStephan]

My Question is, How easy is access to the actual batteries - car main battery & electric motor’s battery? That’s in case they need replacement of course.

[@npoleary]

The 12v battery would be near the front as with most cars but most hybrid batteries are in the rear usually in the boot under the floor.

[@user-qe3tk3vu1y]

Great video. Thanks for sharing all this information about phev. That's really helpful for my new w214 E300e. Just I have a one question do you know if this cars can just charge battery till 100% while we drive ? Thanks😊

[@npoleary]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video 🤓 So sadly plug-in hybrids are designed to be plugged in to charge up. Some older plug-in hybrids did offer this years ago, but it is the least efficient way of charging a car up as it burns through so much fuel.

[@ChoppyChof]

You get recharge from braking though don’t you? I do on my gla anyhow. but I’d say whilst it’s possible to get to 100%, it reply isn’t likely as it’s a very slow recharge rate.

[@npoleary]

Yes I don’t know the percentage that you “gain back” but it’s very small. You’d need a big mountain road from the top to notice a big charge! 😅

[@Dphunks]

I have a CLA shooting brake and drive most of the time electric. Just one thing that is very annoying is the car needs to be off to open the charge port. When I park I just stop and open the door. The car goes to park automatically and if I lock the doors it will shut off. But if I want to open the charge port I need to remember to shut the car off before getting out or I need to press the lock key of the remote. Mercedes could just turn off the car if the charge port gets open...

[@lizzietheoldbiddy262]

I'm really ummming and Ahhhhing about the 250e CLA shooting brake, or the 220d (I have a Labrador and am concerned that she won't be able to sit up in the boot of the 250e). Also, I took a 250e for a test drive and I don't think that the Mercedes person who accompanied me had the first idea about PHEV. In my test drive we went up a long, steep hill (Haldon Hill in Devon) and the 250e seemed somewhat gutless. What has been your experience, please? Could it be that we just weren't in the right drive mode? Many thanks in advance.

[@Dphunks]

@@lizzietheoldbiddy262 it has power enough for any hill. If your battery is empty then you'll feel but I don't think that is an issue. I live in Belgium not a lot of hills but while driving in France I never had a moment when I needed more power. Try a second test drive

[@npoleary]

That would be good!

[@npoleary]

Yes hybrids are the equivalent of a hot hatch in terms of their performance, they’re pretty quick. Was it charged out of curiosity?

[@MrNickAtkins]

I have a C300e. My question is: Why does it default to EL and then I keep having to manually change it hybrid which is my preferred mode?

[@npoleary]

It’ll always default to a driving mode sadly! No different to a Petrol or Diesel, they do the same as well

[@SertacAkin]

On the Hybrid mode, it automatically switches between electric and gas automatically by analysing the route you put on navigation aiming to minimize the consumption and improve efficiency. It does not work on Google Maps etc though, it only works with Mercedes's own navigation system. So the Hybrid mode has nothing with acceleration etc, it's for efficency but it is tied only to Mercedes Navigation unfortunately (probably because Mercedes does not want their system talk with 3rd parties and share details of the car).

[@npoleary]

Newer Mercedes can do this but not all of them. Oh yes it’ll only work on the in built Navi system it won’t work on anything else.

[@kevinc8887]

I like the vidio❤

[@npoleary]

Thank you! 🙏

[@TheRitaJansen]

Hi Nick, thanks for this video and I do have another question. Today I drove to Germany and the GLA automatically switches from gasoline to hybrid by itself, what a luxury! Upon returning home the GLA on the charger, at our place that is 220V, so no quick charger. But now the car makes a loud humming sound which stops when I open the car door or disconnect the charger plug. Do you have any idea what that could be? Thanks in advance and best regards from Holland.

[@npoleary]

Thank you! Sorry not sure on exact specifics for electrics in other countries, it is completely different in terms of how it’s wired and voltages etc. Not sure on the humming sound, my car makes a humming sound sometimes which is probably to do with the mild hybrid system so it could be similar. No harm though in asking Mercedes to check it out for you 🤓

[@ronaldcools]

Why would I ever want to use the "hold battery" mode. Isn't it always best to use the electricity first? (cheaper & better for environement)

[@npoleary]

If for example you live in the countryside but want to save electric driving for when you get to a built up area where you know there’s going to be traffic, that can work out better. You don’t have to, but you can 🤓

[@vinceunlimited]

Some cars [possibly early MB hybrids] had a specific battery regeneration mode. Instead of holding the battery level at the current level it would use only the motor to actively top it up so you could achieve a full charge given sufficient mileage. Useful if your electric range was depleted when you set off. Can this car not achieve this?

[@npoleary]

They did! You’re right. This was taken off because it completely defeats the point of having a plug-in hybrid. Plug-in hybrids exist so that you can offset your local driving (the stuff you’d do driving on electric) to something else other than fuel. So charging up at a socket (3-pin, home wall box or public charging). If you’re using fuel to charge the battery up then you may as well not of bought a plug-in hybrid in the first place. Yes it’s very convenient but it’s drops your MPG down by about 15 MPG to 20 MPG while it charges which probably offsets the gains you’d get when driving on electric. It will physically cost you more to charge it up using fuel than electric too. It’s almost the same has charging an electric car up with a diesel generator at the side of the road. The diesel costs way more.

[@user-uo1jd5lk8c]

Hi nick, have you heard of many issues with the regenerative breaking on the eq models or eqc in particular? Mine will cut out over a bump and the abs kicks in. Also recently hit a bump and went straight into coast mode. Just wondered if you or anyone else knows the issue as it’s hard to replicate when taken into the dealership to diagnose the fault. Thank you

[@npoleary]

No I haven’t heard of any comments from anyone on my channel, why have you? I’ve been lucky enough to drive many electric cars that Mercedes offer and haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. What you describe though would make sense in a car, if you’re braking (while it’s regenerating) and the ABS system triggers then it would just revert to normal brakes until you take your foot off the pedal again. ABS on petrol car has done that for me before too, so why would it be a fault? Unless I’ve misread or misunderstood something

[@MartyW74]

Question, once you have been running on electric and the batttery is depleted and you go on to engine, what is the best way to get the engine to charge the battery as your driving.

[@npoleary]

It won't ever charge it fully, you have to plug it in, it recoups some power back into the battery when you brake but it's minimal. You'll have to plug in to charge back up

[@shawnbritto]

Do the hybrid Mercedes have D- drive modes ?

[@npoleary]

Yes but only in the Electric Drive mode 🤓

[@vladpelinescu717]

How about the health of the combustion engine. When i go out of the town, I drive in sport mode, or in battery hold with manual transmission. Because I dont think for the combustion engine is ok to power up and shutdown so often. If my combustion engine is cold and then start and go to 5000rpm? then shutoff and electric come again. This I think it is a problem. And for the combustion engine in the long run...

[@npoleary]

Apparently they use different oil in hybrid engines so it’s not that much of an issue. Plus the power is limited if it’s that cold anyway

[@vladpelinescu717]

@@npoleary Thx for the answer. I have the glc 400e and I was confused about the "how to" drive the car and not destroy the combustion engine

[@DElionel1995]

Hi! Can you change the order of the modes in the menu? Yours are in a different order. Thanks in advance!

[@npoleary]

No sadly not seen a way to do that, I presume all of the latest plug-in hybrids are the same

[@DElionel1995]

@@npoleary my 2023 a250e facelift has electric on top then hybride, battery hold, sport and Custom. Weird that this is different.

[@npoleary]

Each model will always be different, not all Mercedes have the same menus etc From what I’ve seen anyway, same goes for other manufacturers I review. Menus and the order of things very slightly 👍🏼

[@RocketLR]

my 2021 A250e used to combine engine and electric however it saw fit during trips that where longer than what the battery could reach. This was great because it really optimized the usage of the two. But for some reason now after 3 years of owning this car, it has stopped doing that and is going electric until it just runs out. after which it goes to combustion engine. I cant find any reason why it would do this :S

[@npoleary]

Not all hybrids can do the route optimisation thing, it’s a fairly new thing but one thing that I do recall on that car was something called “Electric in the city”. Think it was in the EQ menu on the Home Screen. That might have something to do with it?

[@kencarruthers6714]

I have a GLA 250e (see my other post on this thread). It does what you describe which optimises the use of battery and petrol power. It has not changed (just turned 3 years). I would not be pleased if I found the car suddenly started to simply running on electric on any journey till all this power was used and only then switching over to petrol power.

[@RocketLR]

hi guys, appreciate the respons! The "electric in the city" feature was turned off. I will turn it on and see if it changes anything. I live 30min away from the city so it should not be electric non stop. Will see how it goes today. Otherwise ill call Mercedes support. I think i called them 1 year ago but the guy did not have any knowledge.. Will try again.

[@npoleary]

Ah that could be it! I should add I’m not sure what Mercedes classes as a “City”. I bet it’s a built up area.

[@RocketLR]

@@npoleary Yepp that was the cause. The feature is wrongly named in that case. Because i had "Electric in city" toggled off, the whole car stopped switching entirely from electric to gas on long trips. Once i enabled it, the car just electric and gas where most optimal and by the end of the trip i had 0% charge instead of halfway. This feature is wrongly named. It should be named "Intelligent hybrid control" or something like that with a asterisk *Will use electric only in cities* Thanks, i would not have figured this out by myself!

[@albertabs]

I have a CLA 250e , super car pity the battery autonomy only gives me 50 km , should be at least 100 , although I have read the new ones have a 120 km autonomy

[@jaimereguart]

I just got mine yesterday and the battery gives close to 70km in city driving

[@albertabs]

@@jaimereguart still not enough,

[@MegaTinni]

​Does yours have a 'battery hold' or equivalent? Driving to Paris tomorrow from Brussels, want to save the battery until there.

[@jaimereguart]

@@MegaTinni Yes it does

[@Never_Stand_Still]

It’s a shame it always starts on electric, it would be great to be able to customise my own car without having to press a button every time

[@npoleary]

Sadly cars always have to start in their default mode but it can be changed pretty quickly!

[@Bilo3311]

@@npoleary it is not possible to change the default mode because it is true always stars on electric and sometime we want to save the power in the battery everytime we starts the car. i think it is possible by doing some coding in the MBUX 2

[@npoleary]

I wouldn’t know anything about coding, I just review cars and produce tutorials about certain features. Never modified cars like that before. Sorry :(

[@CristinelCostea]

scara a furat-o de la Aro!

[@daz51173]

I will never goto electric

[@npoleary]

Hybrid? Or Plug-in hybrid? Why you say never?

[@suczey]

Does this plugin hybrid uses fuel ?

[@npoleary]

If you have the engine on yes :)

[@stiffywatson2]

I hope you’re not in the Sytner Group. Anyone can ask me why.

[@npoleary]

Me? I don’t work for any dealer I work for myself. But please do share! I’m curious now! 🤓

[@stiffywatson2]

@@npoleary the watford branch had my wife classic E Advantguard estate in on the 10th June last year for work. It was immaculate. In a 02 plate 85,000 miles. They had it for 33 weeks as they were waiting in a part from Germany. I went to pick it up and it was covered in calcium and what looked like acid ?? They said they would fix it. I was ok about it as they were going to fix it. Now since then they have been nit picking on every detail. I had photos from a few days before I gave it to them as I was thinking of selling, but changed my mind. They still have so now 48 weeks. They are still nit picking without any apology. I’ve complained to head office with no joy. Even though I bought a E53 AMG Estate three years ago from them and I have it serviced there too. By the way I have a CLK on an 04 plate which has only done 43,000 miles too. Absolutely useless. First call I received from the manageress was yesterday , who stated. We’ve done all we can 😡😡

[@npoleary]

Hmmm that sounds like a very complicated scenario! :( sorry to hear that. Well the only thing I can suggest (I would imagine you’ve already done at least a couple of these things) is Take your car to an independent bodywork specialist (this doesn’t have to be a Mercedes dealer, they often won’t do major repairs, quite often it’s just small repairs if any). Only one I can recommend as I have used them myself is a company called MG Cannon. They are recognised by various insurance companies (although you don’t have to use insurance) but they are very good having repaired my own car. I would seek some advice from them as to what it actually is that’s on the paintwork. While you’re there obtain a quote for the work and chat with the dealer but put it in writing via a letter / email. Complaining to Mercedes head office won’t help in any shape or form, Mercedes use franchises across the UK so you need to chat to the dealer group who had your car (they will be a separate business). I used MG Cannon in Dorchester, but they have various places across the UK from what I’ve heard. But I’d suggest getting some advice as to what it is.